Part IV begins posting on or before July 7, 2022 (evening, PST)
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Fic Summary: With Horde Prime defeated, the Best Friend Squad journeyed into space to bring magic back to the galaxy. At least, that was the best outcome among many that fate could have taken them to.
In this reality, when Adora smashes the Sword of Protection, Etheria is instead pulled into a universe with problems far larger than a sadistic Galactic Emperor—a universe where the Hero, the Fallen Friend, and the Once-Queen have no choice but to confront a crisis threatening the very foundations of reality itself.
Etheria is no longer alone in Despondos, and the galaxy is a far more dangerous place than they could have ever imagined.
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Read on AO3 from Chapter 1
Select reader comments below
“I love how much you're willing to just forge your own path. Absolutely wild and it's great not knowing what to expect, even with all the fanon in the community [...] It's really refreshing to see someone willing to just write whatever they want.”
- Reader, Sathroe; Chapter 2
This was honestly beautiful. What a work of fiction to craft backstories for backdrops and have them fit seamlessly into the characters heads! Glimmer's [spoilers redacted] was wonderful and it felt *so real*. It's the small things like that, the small things that shift to bigger things, that makes this fic wonderful [...] I could wax lyrical about that forever, but I've also got to mention how phenomenal it is that you are crafting these three separate POVs, all rich with their own small moments, and having them connect to each other as well as connecting to the past [...] honestly it's phenomenal and I don't feel like I'm reading a fanfiction, I feel like I'm reading a novel.
- Reader, Ghostglaceon; Chapter 35
What really makes this story beautiful and feel real is how everything is living outside of our main characters. Cultures, races, events, people's lives and decisions. A character doesn't make a choice because it's convenient to our characters but because it's convenient to themselves and their circumstances.
- Reader, Eraven; Chapter 35
*binge reading*
this was so good!!
Readers, withredhair and PinkStorm, who have both commented on every single chapter since chapter 1. I never thought I’d get *one* dedicated commenter let alone two. I’m super grateful T.T
Here is a quick and dirty writing tip that will strengthen your writing.
In English, the word at the end of a sentence carries more weight or emphasis than the rest of the sentence. You can use that to your advantage in modifying tone.
Consider:
In the end, what you said didn't matter.
It didn't matter what you said in the end.
In the end, it didn't matter what you said.
Do you pick up the subtle differences in meaning between these three sentences?
The first one feels a little angry, doesn't it? And the third one feels a little softer? There's a gulf of meaning between "what you said didn't matter" (it's not important!) and "it didn't matter what you said" (the end result would've never changed).
Let's try it again:
When her mother died, she couldn't even cry.
She couldn't even cry when her mother died.
That first example seems to kind of side with her, right? Whereas the second example seems to hold a little bit of judgment or accusation? The first phrase kind of seems to suggest that she was so sad she couldn't cry, whereas the second kind of seems to suggest that she's not sad and that's the problem.
The effect is super subtle and very hard to put into words, but you'll feel it when you're reading something. Changing up the order of your sentences to shift the focus can have a huge effect on tone even when the exact same words are used.
In linguistics, this is referred to as "end focus," and it's a nightmare for ESL students because it's so subtle and hard to explain. But a lot goes into it, and it's a tool worth keeping in your pocket if you're a creative writer or someone otherwise trying to create a specific effect with your words :)
this is one reason I think people who want to write good prose should spend some time close-reading and learning to write poetry. because this sort of effect is a lot easier to notice and to learn to use in poetry.
➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.
➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”
➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”
➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”
➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”
➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.
“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.
“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”
➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”
➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”
However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!
➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.
If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)
➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“
“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.
➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.
➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”
➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.
“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”
➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.
“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”
I knew about half of this when I started writing. It’s amazing the stuff they don’t teach you in school that you have to work out on your own. And look, all beautifully laid out for you.
With Horde Prime defeated, the Best Friend Squad journeyed into space to bring magic back to the galaxy. At least, that was the best outcome among many that fate could have taken them to.
In this reality, when Adora smashes the Sword of Protection, Etheria is instead pulled into a universe with problems far larger than a sadistic Galactic Emperor—a universe where the Hero, the Fallen Friend, and the Once-Queen have no choice but to confront a crisis threatening the very foundations of reality itself.
Etheria is no longer alone in Despondos, and the galaxy is a far more dangerous place than they could have ever imagined.
(Post-Season 4 AU, told in 5 parts)
Part I: The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Chapters 1-16, Complete)
Part II: Catalysts of Change (Chapters 17-28, Complete)
Part III: New Levels - New Devils (Posting)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
everyone has their own Catra as She-Ra take, and this is mine!
[image description: Catra, as She-Ra, carefully holding Adora's face. Her hands are lifting Adora's chin as though anticipating a kiss. Adora is roughed up, and while rising willingly to Catra's touch, is held back by a pair of shackles with green lights fastening down at the bottom of the image (a metaphor for Horde Prime's control). She has several wounds from battle, including four rips in her shirt that cut through the Horde insignia on her back, implying a similar fight to the canon scene in Save the Cat. Catra's outfit is similar to her season 4 outfit, but is gilded in gold, with a tall, soaring headpiece with wings erupting out of the sides. Her mane is long and flowing, and a long dark cape flows beneath it. Their faces are earnest and gentle. They are framed against a simple starscape. End ID.]
I just wanted to say congrats on the penultimate chapter! That's a big accomplishment, and I can't wait to read through the whole thing back to back. Personal stuff has kept me from commenting, but know that your updates always make my day better ♥️
-elfdragon
Ahh thanks so much! I was really happy to get your comment on my other story and see that you're still around :)
Next chapter is the last chapter of part 2 for World Eater, but there's a total of 5 parts in the whole story. I put the explanation in an authors note, but you wouldn't have seen that if you weren't following along week to week.
If you want to read the whole story once it's complete, which I understand because I'm the same way with stories, I'd wait for the end of part 5. If you decide to read part 2 anyways, the story won't be done done but you will get some solid progression. I split the parts up by certain milestones in the story, so I don't think anyone bingeing would be dissatisfied even if the whole thing isn't complete yet.
With Horde Prime defeated, the Best Friend Squad journeyed into space to bring magic back to the galaxy. At least, that was the best outcome among many that fate could have taken them to.
In this reality, when Adora smashes the Sword of Protection, Etheria is instead pulled into a universe with problems far larger than a sadistic Galactic Emperor—a universe where the Hero, the Fallen Friend, and the Once-Queen have no choice but to confront a crisis threatening the very foundations of reality itself.
Etheria is no longer alone in Despondos, and the galaxy is a far more dangerous place than they could have ever imagined.
(Post-Season 4 AU)
Part I: The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Chapters 1-16, Complete)
Part II: Catalysts of Change (Chapters 17-28, Posting)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/30130209
Art commission done by Harrison Stetzer, Fine Arts Graduate.
